3 Chapter 4

It was afternoon when she found a proper stream to drink from. Cupping her hands under the water, she gulped it as fast as she could. The priceless liquid dribbled down her chin, chilling her neck and falling into her shirt. She could see her reflection faintly, and the sight was unrecognizable. Her hair was poofed into an uneven afro, and her skin had a rash from the sun. She bathed her skin in the water, splashing it over what she couldn't dip. She finally settled her feet in the stream and cleaned them in hopes that she wouldn't get an infection. That would be the last thing she needed. Would just the water be good enough to prevent that? She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She scanned the forest around her to see if there was anything to munch on, and went back to cleaning her feet.

Juba's eyes snapped up and she blinked them numerous times. She knew she wasn't dreaming, but how could she not spot this from the mountain?

Not to far from where she sat was a house. A large one at that. A faint smile spread across her face as she got up without a second thought. Although her feet ached, the pure adrenaline flowing through her system pressed her towards the rather expensive looking house.

She cautiously stepped onto the wooden stairs leading up to a placid cabin. Large windows covered the front of the luxurious home, but she did not see anyone present. She reached her hand for the door, and loud knocks echoed through the building.

Still, nobody arrived. Juba tested the doorknob and it clicked, allowing her entry. With one last glance behind her, she stepped into the immaculate house.

Dust had settled onto every surface. It was obvious that whoever had lived there was long gone. Spiders occupied corners, and there was a bird nest among the banister rails leading upstairs.

"At least I didn't intrude on someone here." She groused. Breaking and entering wasn't her style, but hey--she was in need of shelter. This would do just fine until she figured out a way home. She glanced at the interior decorations. It looked like someone attempted to turn their general family home into a modern-minimalist house.

At least they tried.

A tour through the first floor told her nothing about the owner. There were no pictures of a family, or of anyone. "Curious", she thought. "Maybe they have no family". She felt bad for them if that was the case. She thought about her family as she walked to a closed door and opened it.

In the room she figured was a study, there was an image on the wall of the island at a birds eye view, but no name or description of it either. This solidified her idea that it was a known island. Maybe someone would check up on the area soon and be her savior.

Upstairs, there was only a bedroom. Lucky for her, there was running water in the bathroom connected to it. She graciously bathed as quickly as she could, hoping nobody would angrily barge in at any moment. The water wasn't hot, but it was comfortable. Inviting. She had missed the sensation of it flowing down her body and cleansing her pores. As she finished up, Juba pondered how the water worked if she were to be doing the upkeep, hoping it would be an easy task.

Night approached as she finished walking around the premises. The second deck attached to the back of the house had empty flower pots and chairs scattered around. It was truly a sad sight for Juba to see everything in such bad shape. She vowed to clean it as best she could if she would be living on someone else's land.

It wasn't right to stay there in her mind, but she wouldn't let the owner down. She figured they could be dead or outright abandoned the place since it was in this shape. Who would willingly let this happen?

Turning back to the kitchen, she tested a nearby light switch. Nothing lit up, so she was stuck in the approaching darkness. After snacking on some surprisingly non-expired food, she made her way up the steps once more, and sunk into the mattress. She was thankful for whoever built this house and the trouble they went through to get even running water onto a remote island.

Turning over, she let sleep take over. Nightmares of the accident swirled into her mind. She wouldn't get much sleep tonight.